Knowledge and attitudes of residents and medical students on complementary-alternative medicine

Aim: this study aimed to explore the residents’ and 5th and 6th year medical students’ knowledge and attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine (cam) in pamukkale university and to find out the affecting factors of the participants’ knowledge and attitudes towards cam. materials and methods: the study was completed among the residents and 5th and 6th year medical students of pamukkale university in april 2011 after obtaining the necessary permissions. total 184 persons participated in this study. the first section of the questionnaire included questions on the participant’s demographic and socioeconomic status and family welfare scale was used to determine the socioeconomic status of the participants. knowledge questions of participants on cam were in the second section and integrative medicine attitude questionnaire (imaq) was in the third section of the questionnaire. results: the best known cam method was “diet” among the residents and medical students participated in the study. the average score for the attitude towards cam was 118.3 ± 14.5 (min-max: 85-170). there was no difference in the mean attitude scores between residents and medical students in terms of gender, age, mother's and father's education and employment status, family type, number of siblings and socio-economic status (all p>0.05). the only statistically signifi cant variable was the location long-lived (p<0.05). conclusions: medical trainees do not have suffi cient information on this matter; there is no difference between residents and medical students in terms of attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine.